Singapore:  The Festival of Media, the world’s first festival of media creativity and innovation, today announced the themes that will be tackled at The Festival of Media Asia to be held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center in Singapore. Spread over two days, there will be eight breakout sessions led by some of the most recognised brands in the world.

The opening session will see themes such as the new realities of global businesses and changing consumer behaviour, and offer a glimpse into how Asia’s business landscape will look in the very near future. The session will close with a discussion on the best strategies for brands to future-proof their businesses. Speakers include representatives from Virgin Galactic, HSBC Global Banking & Markets, Universal McCann and BBC World News.

The second session will be led by some of China and Asia’s leading companies, providing insight into globally competitive Asian brand stories and their role in the rebalancing of the global economy. Marketers from Asian-born luxury hotel brands Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, Mandarin-Oriental Hotel Group and Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces will share how they are managing their global growth without losing sight of their origins and core Asian values.

Digital brands coming out of China such as Youku, Baidu and Tencent will also offer insight into the ongoing digital revolution in China and how they are helping brands connect with Chinese customers through online video, social media and gaming.

This session will be followed by a discussion stream on the communications challenges and media opportunities for regional brands. Delegates will hear from marketers from Intel and Levi Strauss & Co on media and marketing ideas that have emerged from Asia to create a global impact.

“We are bringing together the most influential marketers, media owners and media agency networks to talk about the many changes in the Asian brand communications landscape,” says Charlie Crowe, Founder of The Festival and CEO of C Squared.

Session four will see human resource executives from Google, McDonald’s and Wunderman/Y&R discuss how Asia’s advertising and media industry can respond to the talent crisis in the region. The experts will focus on one area of the talent debate each, including recruitment, development and retention.

Day two of The Festival of Media Asia will see an opening address from Facebook that will provide insight into the company’s global leadership strategy. This will be followed by session five, which focuses on understanding the changing communications landscape and consumer behaviours in the region.

Sessions six and seven will provide an exciting look into the cross-media branding success of Yahoo!, the future of mainstream media, and a discussion led by Google, BMW and Next Media Animation on the social revolution in marketing.

The final session looks at the most important communications innovations of the past year, chosen by the chief executives of the agencies that helped create them. In what has now become one of the most illuminating and enjoyable parts of The Festival of Media agenda, delegates will be treated to a quick-fire series of case studies from across the region.

Since its inception five years ago, The Festival of Media has doubled in size and established itself on the media industry’s calendar. The Festival of Media Asia is jointly organised by C Squared and Lighthouse Independent Media.